HSBC Investments’ active management arm Halbis was almost named after a Harry Potter character.
According to a source within the unit, when it was created in 2003 executives decided that a “meaningless” name would be preferable so that investors would only associate the new brand with the division.

The brand Albus was proposed but rejected by senior management – because Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Harry Potter’s school.

The association with the bestselling series is not stopping everyone, though – an unquoted company called Hermione Investments is registered in Oxford, while offshore investor Voldemort Limited seems comfortable with sharing the name of Potter’s arch-nemesis.